EU expected to green-light reparation loan for Ukraine — Espreso correspondent

Espreso correspondent Tetiana Vysotska reported the information.

"Whether a decision will be made today to provide Ukraine with a reparation loan funded by frozen Russian assets depends specifically on Belgium's position. Since the largest share of frozen Russian assets is located in Brussels—practically almost all of them—Belgium has many reservations and wants European states to give it clear guarantees. Specifically, if the money is provided to Ukraine and Russia later demands these funds back, or, for example, if a peace agreement is reached that demands something similar, then other EU countries will provide Belgium with these funds," Vysotska explained.

The correspondent added that Belgium's Prime Minister had a meeting with European Commission experts, which indicates that the issue of a reparation loan for Ukraine has not been removed from the agenda.

"Just before the meeting on financing Ukraine, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever met with European Commission experts, and they discussed precisely the details of the reparation loan and the guarantees that EU countries will provide to Brussels. So we can conclude that the issue of the reparation loan has not been removed from the agenda. It's quite likely that we will receive a decision from the European Council specifically on the reparation loan, which is supported by the majority of EU countries. Therefore, we are waiting for a decision that could be made as early as today. There's a feeling that this particular option will be voted on by the European Council today," she added.